'Community' and '30 Rock' Will Be Back for Short Seasons

No, it’s not just a Dreamatorium scenario — meta-comedy “Community” will be coming back for a 13-episode fourth season. NBC announced the series renewal yesterday, to the relief of the show’s devoted if, on a broadcast network scale, small group of fans. Series creator and showrunner Harmon, who made headlines with a public tiff with his star Chevy Chase, has not yet been confirmed for the new season — on Twitter, Harmon wrote that “Guys, if I ‘didn’t come back,’ it wouldn’t be because Chevy’s a prick. That’d be like punching a wall because water’s wet. Now CELEBRATE!” No word yet on whether or not Chase will return either.

The “Community” renewal doesn’t necessarily mean the show’s being given a wrap-up run — it could conceivably be back for more — but that is the case for “30 Rock.” NBC is giving Tina Fey’s show one last 13-episode season, the series’ seventh, to say goodbye and to make the show more appealing for syndication deals. Alec Baldwin’s been making noises about leaving for a few years now, so while it’ll be sad to see Liz and Jack leave the airwaves, it’s nice to know they’ll be able to do so with some sense of closure.

Elsewhere in NBC’s critic- and fan-loved but ratings-challenged comedies, the fate of “Parks and Recreation,” which had its season finale last night, is still unknown, as is that of the Christina Applegate-Maya Rudolph-Will Arnett sitcom “Up All Night.” No word on the aging “The Office” yet, either — the show rates well for the network, but has been seeing some castmember attrition. And dramedy “Parenthood” will be back, but has also only been renewed for a 15-episode season instead of a full-length one.